Photo: Courtesy of the Vermont National Guard
Austria and Vermont will become partners within the State Partnership Program of the U.S Department of Defense. The pairing of Austria and Vermont was announced on October 15, 2021 as part of the U.S.-Austria Defense Talks between delegations from the Federal Ministry of Defense of Austria and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) held at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.
Austria is the first Western European nation and the 90th nation worldwide to join the State Partnership Program. The partnership is expected to formally launch on October 1, 2022.
While the State Partnership Program, created in 1993, is intended to advance bilateral security cooperation — such as conducting expert exchanges, cooperative training and exercises — between a U.S. State’s National Guard and the partner state's armed forces, it regularly leads to the delelopment of bilateral cooperation between the partners that extends far beyond the military sphere.
“I am excited to see our new partnership with Austria develop, because as we’ve seen, not only does the State Partnership Program support military efforts, but economic and cultural relations as well,” said Vermont Governor Philip B. Scott according to a press release published by the Vermont National Guard.
The Austrian Armed Forces and Vermont National Guard have a longstanding relationship that dates back to the 1980s when the Vermont National Guard started up their Mountain Warfare School and cooperated with the Mountain School of the Austrian Armed Forces to acquire the necessary expertise and train their instructors. Vermont is also home to serveral businesses retaining close ties with Austria, such as Burton Snowboards, whose European headquarters are based in Innsbruck, Austria, Geiger of Austria in Middlebury, VT, and of course the Trapp Family Lodge in Stove.
The Trapp Family Lodge in Stove, VT. Photo: (CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia/Royalbroil
The conclusion of the new partnership between Austria and Vermont was celebrated at a high level event at the Austrian Ambassador’s Residence in Washington D.C. attended by Vermont Governor Philip B. Scott and the Adjudant General of the Vermont National Guard, Maj. Gen. Gregory C. Knight, representatives of the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the Austrian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Robert Brieger.
Ambassador Martin Weiss (right) and Mrs. Weiss (left) with Vermont Governor Phil Scott (center) at the Austrian Residence in Washington D.C., on October 12, 2021. Photo: BMEIA/Colic
Austrian Chief of Defense Staff General Robert Brieger (left), Vermont Governor Phil Scott, Defense Attaché Maj. Gen. Jürgen Ortner and the Adjudant General of the Vermont National Guard, Maj. Gen. Gregory C. Knight (right) at the Austrian Residence in Washington D.C., on October 12, 2021.
Photo: BMEIA/Colic